One Little Slip
by Ryuuzaki Kusakurin
Summary: He'd been tempted by Sho's presence before, though he had always been able to keep his bloodlust under control. But after three weeks of starving himself, Kei's control begins to slip. R&R please!


"One Little Slip" by Ryuuzaki Kusakurin

**DISLCAIMER:** Moon Child doesn't belong to me, I can only dream...

**Warnings:** Vampirism, death, etc.  
**Characters:** Sho, Kei, Son  
**Pairings: **None

Hnn. Apparently I have a relatively morbid mind... I've seen fics where Kei loses control before, but never quite like this...

I've been stuck in the Moon Child fandom for a while now and so I'm still writing fics about it. Hopefully I'll finish the 'epic' of a fanfic that I'm writing with my editor's help (Destinii) and publish it sooner or later so I can move on.

This is dedicated to Destinii for all the hard work she's putting in to help me.

* * *

**ONE LITTLE SLIP**

It wasn't the first time he had been tempted, but this time it was different. The hunger pangs, normally subtle and easy to ignore, had begun in earnest, and while they were usually bothersome, they were painful this time. Sho was in another room; Kei could sense that much. Even so, the subtle promise of blood in the air that wafted off of the human's body was spreading his already-weakening control even more thinly.

It had been three weeks since he had last fed.

And then the guilt had set in, heavy on his mind and heavier still on his heart. How many hundreds of people had died to sate his inhuman thirst? How many _thousands_? He had dwelt on the issue for too long - of that he was fully aware - and now it was hard to handle the backlash.

Sho entered the room and Kei held himself still, forcing himself to keep his mouth shut for the fear that Sho would see his elongated fangs and panic - the youth had no idea what was going on, just knew that Kei seemed weaker and somehow more desperate.

He could hear the blood pulsing through Sho's body, and as he stood there he slowly leaned forward until he was doubled over from the pain in his stomach, in his body at large. As he struggled to keep himself upright through the haze of hunger, his only thought was that he had at last mistaken and passed his limits.

"...Kei? Kei, are you -"

"**Get away from me**!" the vampire roared with strength he didn't know he had, barely catching Sho's confused and slightly hurt expression before he straightened up, wrapping his arms around himself. Doubling over again, he gasped, falling to his knees as the unmistakable hunger reared its ugly head. "Get out while you still can," he requested in a softer tone, trying to spare the nineteen-year-old even now.

"I can't leave you like this -"

"-Then get a gun, a weapon, _something_," the blonde ground out. No movement met his words, and he forced his face upwards to stare hungrily at Sho, baring his teeth. "**Now**."

That seemed to be convincing enough, as the youth left the room quickly, the sound of rummaging drawers and such reaching Kei's ears. He knew that the youth probably blamed himself for this, having recently taken to bringing Son everywhere they went... A shudder wracked his body as the beast within him forcibly began to rebel against the tight control Kei kept it under. Slumping forward, he let himself rest on all fours, hands curling into fists as Sho reentered the room.

"Sho, listen to me," he managed through his fangs, "If I lose control... which is a distinct possibility... shoot me." The simple explanation made things ultimately worse, because even if Sho had suspected that the vampire hadn't been asking for him to go find someone - Sho would have made Toshi do it if that was the case, just to stay with his friend - having his suspicions confirmed... he dropped the weapon. "Sho," Kei whimpered, his eyes meeting Sho's and _pleading_, even as they slowly began to change to the golden-yellow that marked the inner beast. "If you can't stop me... I'll kill you," he whispered, the last part more agonising to him than the curse that was enveloping his being. It didn't matter how close they were - even if they had been blood relatives, once the bloodlust took over there would be no escaping it. Kei was betting on his weakness, hoping that a few bullets would be enough to keep himself in check until sundown, when he could murder and gorge as he pleased, especially if it kept Sho from seeing this again...

His eyes slid from the youth's face to his neck, the slightly quickened pulse there drawing his attention and calling his name. Captivated by it, the blonde stared, not even noticing when the beast within him began to assert control in his momentary lapse.

Fear struck a chord in Sho as Kei's eyes began to glaze over and so he reached down to pick up the weapon, his face pained as he raised it and waited. There was no time to run now, and as Kei's eyes began to lose the last of the familiar moss-green his mouth dropped open to reveal his fangs, sharp and more than ready to pierce into the weak flesh separating him from his food source. Sho aimed carefully, only able to let himself do this because he knew Kei would heal, knew that it would save his own life. As he processed the thought, faint footsteps sounded outside the apartment door and Sho angled his head slightly when the sound of a key in the door was heard.

That small movement was enough to snap the very last vestiges of Kei's consciousness and he let out a strangled cry of both warning and desperation as he lunged.

The door opened, and Sho fired.

Kei growled as the force from the bullets made him stumble back, eyes narrowing as he singled out the newcomer as a more docile target. Easily rising back to his feet as the three entry wounds closed, the vampire eyed Son's lanky figure, standing stock-still in the doorway, _unarmed_...

"No - Kei!" Sho yelled as he stepped between the two, forcing Kei to regard him once again. Adrenalin and fear coursed through his system as he looked the vampire in the eye, and for a second, they connected - it was long enough for Kei to change his target back to Sho.

"Sho, what - ?" That was all Son managed before the starved vampire made a last effort to reach a prospective meal, easily closing the gap between himself and Sho in less time than it took to blink.

The gun clattered across the floor as he fisted his hand in Sho's hair, dragging him to the ground and straddling his waist, slowly staring his victim in the eyes.

"Kei," Sho whispered, his own eyes wide as the vampire descended, mouth opening to expose the same fangs he had seen tear into so many victims. He dimly heard Son cursing behind him, and knew he only had a vague idea if any about what was going on... and then Kei's mouth brushed his neck, canines sinking roughly into his jugular. The pain blossomed across his senses, nerve endings blazing as Kei began to draw blood from his body. "It hurts," he whimpered, trying weakly to push the vampire to the side - it was like trying to move a car with his bare hands. He felt his blood being coaxed out of his body more rapidly and began to try harder, panic rising in his chest. "Kei, stop... you're hurting me," he begged, still trying to dislodge Kei when he heard a gunshot and felt the vampire's body spasm against his own. Another shot, and another, and then he felt the vampire slide slightly off of him, blood still pumping out of the twin punctures in his neck while he watched Son shakily press the gun to Kei's head. That was the only sure-fire way to kill him right now, and Son seemed to know it as well as Sho did.

"Don't," he rasped, barely able to push the silver metal away from Kei, finally realising what was coming as he moved. "He can't..." he gasped for breath as the room spun, and weakly pressed a hand over the injury before finishing. "He can't help it... it's what he is." As he spoke the vampire recovered, his hand questing for Sho's to pull it away from the bloodied mess. Sho let Kei pull his arm away, let him press his mouth back to the injury and resume feeding. From the expression on Son's face, Sho could easily tell that the wound was indeed as bad as it felt. There was no longer any harm in letting his friend siphon off his life, though - he was going to die from the gushing punctures anyway. He didn't want to die, but if he had no choice... "Tell him it's okay... don't let him out in the sunlight," he muttered thickly, blood loss taking its toll. Gasping as a shudder passed through his rapidly weakening body, Sho locked his blue eyes with Son's and spoke clearly, forcefully - "**Don't let him die**." Bewildered, it was all Son could to to nod and so Sho relaxed, fully giving himself to Kei, ignoring the burning pain that he knew was his nearing death and instead choosing to weakly stroke Kei's golden-blonde hair. When he felt the suction on his neck increase, he knew it was almost over. It was as if all strength had left his body and he went limp, letting his eyes slide shut as the blackness finally claimed him, his final breath escaping him in a shuddering sigh.

* * *

Kei came to with a vague sense of time having passed, but when he moved, he heard the click of a gun's safety being released and tensed.

"Sho...? I'm alright now," he mumbled, tasting the remnants of an unfamiliarly sweet blood on his lips, understanding that someone had managed to sate him - had someone entered the apartment while his vampire side had been in control? Perhaps it had been Sho's doing, to bring him someone... He rubbed a hand over his chest, the bullets lodged there uncomfortable. It would take a day for his body to break them down, but in his weakened state he had known it would have likely stopped him from attacking anyone at the time. Breathing a sigh of relief, he opened his eyes to see Son watching him with open hostility, easily aiming the weapon Sho had retrieved at him.

"If you make any sudden moves, I'll fire," the man threatened in low Chinese. Kei wondered where Sho was as he sat up, eyes scanning the room for his best friend. He knew he wasn't there before he looked, though; he could usually sense him there because of the closeness they shared - he could tell Sho's scent from anyone else's. That much told him that the teenager wasn't in the general area, maybe he was in one of the back rooms of their apartment? Sho could help him explain things to Son... "I don't care what he said, I'll kill you."

"Where is Sho?" Kei queried, stretching absently, noting how much better he felt. He had been laying on the floor, and he could see a small stain beginning to form where there had been blood. Someone had tried to clean it up and failed, obviously. "He can help me explain," he murmured ruefully. "I'm sorry we kept the truth from you for so long, but-" he paused, taking in the uncomfortable expression on the Taiwanese man's face. "Son..." The gentle askance had the desired effect, the man's eyes shifting nervously as he debating moving, and then he warily lowered the gun, shuffling to the side a bit to reveal the daybed.

Kei could see the familiar form and for a minute he wondered why he hadn't sensed Sho in the room, even if he _was_ sleeping, but as he padded over and knelt almost deferentially next to him, he could easily see that Sho wasn't breathing, wasn't moving.

His skin was pale, and his body seemed almost bloodless. It only took Kei a second to see the deep puncture wounds in Sho's neck, and he covered his mouth, feeling his fangs extend as he reacted to the last blood that had spilled over and now coated the punctures he had made... had he done that? Could he have done that... to Sho?

His stomach heaved and he stumbled up, away from the body, barely making it to the bathroom in time to lose what blood was left in his stomach as nausea pounded through him in waves. Again and again he heaved, but after a while, he was left with nothing. Not bothering to wipe his face, he curled up into a ball and began to softly cry.

At first, he simply rocked back and forth, the occasional tear running down the side of his face, but slowly reality began to sink in.

He had killed Sho.

Sho, his best friend, the child he had raised, the only person he would be willing to die for, the only person he would be willing to live for, was gone and it was his fault. The sweet taste that had pervaded his senses earlier had been Sho's life, stolen from him by the one person he had been told he would never have to worry about harm from.

Rising to his feet, tears still sliding down his face, he headed for the daybed, noting that Son was standing outside the apartment, talking on his phone. Content that he would not be bothered, Kei gently raised Sho's lifeless, cold body so that he could sit and then cradled him close, breathing in his friend's scent once before turning back to face the heavy curtains that obscured the sun.

His hand ran up the fabric until he had reached as high as he could and then he jerked it back, dazzled by the brightness of the sun as he let it soak into his skin. He heard Son end the phone call and turned back to Sho's body, continuing to hold him while he took in the sensation of burning. His tears still ran, soaking Sho's hair, and he murmured pointless endearments as the door swung open and Son walked in, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Kei.

He made as if to stop the vampire, but Kei bared his teeth and hissed, the smoke rising from his body and his tears giving him a rather feral look. Son stopped again and let him be, his eyes wide with horror as he looked on.

Kei continued to burn, but he ignored it. His focus was on Sho, and he pressed a light kiss to his head as he felt his whole body begin to give in. Small tongues of flame began to dance across his skin, oddly staying there rather than spreading, and he marvelled at how alive they made Sho look. It was only when the burning began to spread inward that he whimpered.

He was past the point of no return and he knew it as his skin began to flake off as tiny bits of ash and dust, scattering about the floor in odd patterns, but he was not afraid. Sho was in his arms, serene and beautiful and so he was more than willing to let himself go, sighing once as his body itself began to disappear, the tears still slowly falling from his eyes sizzling when they came in contact with his skin. It was painful beyond imagination, but that didn't matter - his entire focus was on Sho.

"I'm sorry, Sho," he murmured while he still could. "I hope this is enough... to apologise."

A few more tears squeezed out of his closed eyes and he gave in completely, much as Sho had when he had been dying - and the next time the smoke from Kei's body billowed outward, all that was left when it cleared were ashes, scattered in the shape of wings.

I hope that people liked it; if you enjoyed to story or you have constructive criticism no flames, if you don't mind please tell me. I'm always looking for ways to improve.


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